San Francisco is not the team they used to be. In years prior this was a team that seemed to strike fear into the hearts of franchises that had the poor fortune to have them on their schedule. Now there are a franchise that seems to be in a serious rebuilding process. And somehow that change happened in just under a year and a half. It goes without saying the the Cardinals will be heavy favorites in this match but there are still things to look for in this tough NFC West match up.
Running Into The Brick Wall
The 49ers offense this season has struggled to make themselves even relevant in the world of football. Passing wise they could not generate any real offense early in the season and going into the contest they have only averaged 188 yards through the air. Because of the lack of air attack and receiver health troubles the 49ers have resorted to a heavy handed running game that is stuck near the middle of the league with only 100 yards average a game with Carlos Hyde doing most of the heavy lifting with Reggie Bush out for the year early on in this season’s campaign and now Colin Kaepernick done with a shoulder injury. That strong running game may not be as strong as it needs to be however as they face off against a strong defensive front three led by Calais Campbell and Frostee Rucker with surprising rookie Rodney Gunter stepping in well after injuries pushed him into the starting lineup maybe a year or two earlier than the coaching staff was hoping for. The penetration these three get on a regular basis makes the job of Kevin Minter and Deone Bucannon much easier as they can just rely on their speed and reach the ball carriers with relative ease. If those two can get clean trips to the backs in San Francisco the Cardinals ground defense should be able to pad their numbers by the end of the day.
No Fly Zone
Last time the Cardinals faced off with the 49ers it did not end well for Colin Kaepernick. The former NFC champion quarterback had one of his worst games as a professional athlete with a four interception game and two of those going all the way to the endzone for touchdowns. Both of those came in the first quarter. As of right now it is assumed that Kaepernick played his last down as a member of San Francisco with the team putting the former Nevada prospect on season ending IR and have now given the keys to the car to former first round pick and described “bust” of a pick in Blaine Gabbert In just two starts and change this year he has just under 500 yards and three touchdowns this year. Last week against the Seahawks Gabbert had a better game than his first start but still found himself on the losing end in Seattle. Against the Cardinals Gabbert may find himself stepping back slightly in regards to his performance as he is facing off against one of the best defensive backfields in the game today. Already this season Arizona tallies 14 interceptions with three of them going the distance for touchdowns. Granted it was Kaepernick in the last match against this squad but the Cardinals have to like their chances to get after the passing lanes and taking some passes back for six. They may have to as it is unclear at the moment if Patrick Peterson is going to suit up after suffering an ankle injury last week against the Bengals. If he can’t suit up it means that Anquan Boldin, who is battling a hamstring injury, and Torrey Smith may be running against a group that is missing one of the more talented performers in the game today.
Getting Back To The Run
As the holiday season gets closer, for football fans that only means one thing. Playoffs. The best recipe to win in the postseason in this pass happy league is still the same as it was back in the early years of the NFL when names like Lombardi and Stram were still the cornerstones of the football world. Running the ball. Lately the Cardinals have found themselves not running the ball as well as they had earlier in the year. The last two games the Cardinals best run performances came from Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson giving 61 and 63 yards respectively in two separate weeks. Meanwhile Carson Palmer has thrown the ball for over 300 yards in three straight contests. This team will have to start relying on the run game to take time off the clock and limit the opportunities of their opponents on the offensive side of the ball. Against the tougher squads in the league it would be laughable to think that the Cardinals would be able to continue their average of 33 points a game. Teams like the Panthers and even AFC teams like the Patriots are crafted in the sense that they want quarterbacks to take risks and try to beat them while they sit on routes and force incompletions to stop the clock and give their offense the time they need to drive. If this Cardinals team wants to start building towards January football they will need to get Johnson and Ellington in position where they dominate the game and allow Palmer to manage the game and control the clock.
The Cardinals will look to best the 49ers this Sunday at 2:05 PM at Levi’s Stadium on Fox with the intent of increasing their division lead. As of right now the 49ers are just in too many shambles for people to even throw out the concept of a trap game. By the end of this day we could see Jim Tomsula on the sidelines looking around for answers to problems he cannot fix with the personnel he has been given. If the Cards don’t run away with this game, I would be shocked. But if Arians is smart, he’ll remind his team that the field they’ll be playing on will be the same field for the Super Bowl. Perhaps some of the players will take a piece of it home with them as motivation to play in the last game come February.
Cardinals – 35 49ers – 13